Jump Start # 3242

2 Kings 5:11 “But Naaman was furious and went away and said, ‘Behold, I thought, he will surely come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place, and cure the leper.”

Oh Naaman was upset. He was so angry and frustrated that he left. The great Syrian captain who had defeated so many enemies could not win this battle. Naaman was fighting two new battles. One was with his health. He had leprosy and he was going to lose that battle. Leprosy was not curable. The other battle was with Elisha, the prophet from Israel.

Most know this story so well. The hero of the story is God. It’s always God. But playing a significant secondary role was an unnamed servant girl from Israel. Away from home, a captive, she offers help to Naaman. A prophet in her home land can cure him. Connections are made. Naaman travels to meet Elisha. The prophet doesn’t even come out to see Naaman. Instead, a servant comes with an odd message, ‘go dip seven times in the Jordan River.’ Not the words he wanted to hear. This is where our verse comes in. Angry, mad, fuming, the captain leaves. Things didn’t turn out like he thought they would. At least Elisha should have shown himself. Why dip in a river? Why that river? Why seven times? What’s wrong with Elisha?

And, all of this takes us to the valuable lesson about when people frustrate and disappoint us. It happens at home. The conversation does not go like you thought it should. It happens at work. It happens in politics. And, it even happens among brethren.

A great idea is put on the table. Even before you can fully explain it, the idea is shoot down and crashes in flames. Sometimes the reasoning given is unreasonable. Sometimes the answer is “No,” even before you are heard. And, like our Naaman, we get upset. Sometimes we just want to walk out of the meeting. We leave thinking how wrong, unreasonable, and unfair the others are. And, there we stand with Naaman, furious, wanting to leave and never come back. When people do not listen, it accelerates your anger. I know. Been there, and I know what that emotion feels like.

What would God have us to do? You can’t change people.

First, like Naaman had to learn, our ideas, way of thinking and how we expect things should be often are not. At the end of the day what Naaman wanted was to be cured. He was. It didn’t happen the way he thought it would be, but he was still cured. There was no grand show. The prophet didn’t wave his arms. No great crowd saw this. Yet, Naaman was cured.  Our perspective may miss something. Wisdom, experience can bring a consideration that we haven’t thought of.

Second, some people shut things down because it was not their idea. Some do not listen. Some have their minds made up and nothing will change that. That makes all of this extremely difficult. Pray before you begin the meeting. Stand up for what you believe. Ask for proof, evidence. Bring facts. Remain calm. But in the end, those in charge will make the decision and it may not be what you think is right.

How you handle rejection and defeat says a lot about your character. There may be situations that are a matter of right and wrong, legal and unlawful, Biblical and unbiblical. And, when the lines of your conscience have been crossed, you may have to leave. You may have to find another job. You may have to look for another congregation to worship with. If that becomes your conclusion, do not leave slamming doors, making threats, or trying to get others to follow you. Don’t become the central point of the disagreement. Make the issue, the issue, nor you.

Third, your pride has a lot to do with how you handle things. Some are great at telling others what to do, but they do not handle the same coming to them. Listen carefully. You may be wrong. If, so, make things right. If not, stand for what you believe in.

On my desk is a statue of Martin Luther. It’s there to remind me to stand for what you believe in. There may come a time to nail things to the door, as Luther literally did. Understand, with Luther, and likely with you, there will be consequences that follow.  Luther’s life was threatened. He was pushed out of a system he once believed in. Lines were drawn and conclusions made. You may not win every skirmish in life, likely you won’t. But winning the battle is something that you must do. The battle is not the budget, starting services on time or a number of other things that can get us upset. The battle is the salvation of our souls. Lose that, and you’ve lost everything. Losing your cool. Saying things that damage your influence, letting anger get the best of you, might win a small skirmish, but you’ll quickly lose the war acting that way.

Fourth, remember when the tables are turned and someone comes to you, don’t shut them down before they have a chance to speak. What they say may not be correct, but correct with gentleness as the Scriptures teach us. When people are upset, they often bring up things from the past that has nothing to do with the current conversation. They often generalize and want to point their finger to other wrongs. Stay on the topic at hand. Stay Biblical.

Remember, not to assume that the Lord treats us like a few brethren have. God has never let you down. God has never closed the door to you. Be an example because others are watching.

Furious Naaman. Calm down. Breathe. Listen. Help is there if you will but carefully do what was offered. Words that ought to help us as well.

Roger

Jump Start # 2543

2 Kings 5:11 “But Naaman was furious and went away and said, “Behold, I thought, ‘He will surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper.’

Oh, Naaman. He is the subject of so many sermons. The mighty commander got a disease that he could not conquer. In the words of Humpty Dumpty, “all the king’s men and all the king’s horses” could not save Naaman. He was a doomed man. Word came, via a foreign servant girl about a prophet who could cure. Most know the story. The prophet didn’t actually come. A messenger told the commander to dip in the Jordan River seven times. Not the words he was expecting. Not the presentation he was hoping for.

This is where our verse comes in. Mad, Naaman goes away. “Behold, I thought,” he proclaimed. The prophet didn’t come. He didn’t waves his hands. He didn’t call on the name of his God. This was nothing like he thought it would be. Naaman had it in his mind how this ought to be. It wasn’t turning out that way. This couldn’t be right.

I want to journey down the road with Naaman’s expression, “Behold, I thought.” Assumptions. What we think things are or what we think things should be. Boy, I did a big one the other day. Did it in our Jump Starts. I have been cooking it hard lately, long hours. On the road a lot. Knowing what’s coming, I’ve tried to write ahead in our Jump Starts so I won’t have to skip any. And, this is where I fumbled. I assumed. I did a “behold I thought.”

Friday, I was writing about Hezekiah and God granting fifteen more years to his life. I wrote. It looked pretty good. And, I sent it out. Later, I gave it another look over. There it was. A major assumption that just wasn’t so. I had said that Hezekiah got a disease in his feet and died. That was the wrong king. It was Asa who had the bad feet. Hezekiah showed off the treasures of Judah to the Babylonians and for that God was set to punish the nation. Hezekiah, as far as I know, never had any feet problems. I was on the road and not at a place to do much about it. Then emails came. Nice. Kind. But gentle reminders that I got my kings mixed up. I hate being wrong about Bible things. That bothers me terribly. I doubt anyone would lose their soul because they went through life thinking Hezekiah had bad feet instead of Asa. Just a historical blunder, however, it happened because Mr. Roger didn’t slow down enough to check the facts. The ready “recollection” didn’t work so well that day.

And, all of this takes us to the much larger subject of assumptions. A person can lose their soul because of wrong assumptions. A person can mess things up really bad because they have always heard things a certain way or they have just always assumed it to be true.

Those Bereans come to our mind. They searched the Scriptures daily to see if things they were hearing was so. They looked. They did their homework. They understood the final answer was in the word of God. They didn’t rest upon assumptions. They didn’t just accept things because someone said it. They fact checked it with the word of God.

So, here are some simple take a ways from all of this:

First, your preacher isn’t always right. He tries to be. And, most times, he probably is. But, it’s a easy trap to fall into to assume that he always is. God’s word is always right. Always. So, I want people to bring their Bibles to worship. I want people to be following along as I preach. I want people to follow things because the Bible says so, not because I say it is so.

Second, many shortcuts lead to dead-ends. When teaching someone who doesn’t know the Bible, go over your verses ahead of time. Take the time to be accurate. Look. Study. Consider. When teaching classes, giving an invitation, preaching, your use of passages is more important than your illustrations, powerpoint or even what you say. It’s God and His word that will save someone. Take your time. Be thorough. Get it right.

Third, don’t ever settle or accept the “it’s in the Bible somewhere” concept. Find out where. In Luke four, Jesus opened the book and found the place where it was written. You do the same. Find where it is written. If you do not know, then maybe you should not share that comment. Maybe it’s not in the Bible. Maybe you thought it was in the Bible.

Fourth, when someone corrects you, be kind about it. Be thankful about that. Better to be corrected, than to be wrong. Better to learn and know than to go on with something that isn’t correct. We preachers are not perfect. In fact, we are not the smartest ones in the church building about the Bible. Now, if you know someone made a mistake, be kind about. Don’t blister the person. Don’t destroy him. Sometimes when we preachers are talking fast, our minds and tongues can’t keep up with each other. Things come out sideways and backwards and sometimes upside down. Don’t make it a capital offense. Help the guy out.

Naaman stands opposite of Jesus who said you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free. Knowing and guessing. Knowing and assuming. Knowing and “beholding I thought.” There is a difference. We can know. We can do better. We must.

Roger

Jump Start # 2431

2 Kings 5:11 “But Naaman was furious and went away and said, ‘Behold, I thought, he will surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place and cured the leper.”

Oh, Naaman! A victorious commander, the theme of multiple sermons, was greatly disappointed with Elisha. Naaman faced his greatest battle and this one he couldn’t win on his own. He had leprosy. Deadly, contagious, painful and nothing Naaman could do to stop it’s advancing through his body. Naaman’s position, his wealth, his past victories, none of that could stop death from coming. But there was the voice of a girl, a servant girl, a foreigner. She tells about the prophet Elisha. He could heal. Word is sent and Naaman shows up with chariots, ready for a grand display. He’s got this all worked out in his mind. Elisha will appear, dressed like a prophet. His arms will wave in the air. He’ll call to God, likely with a loud thunderous voice. The clouds might gather. Maybe even a clasp of lightning and thunder. Then the leper would be cured. It’ll be awesome. It’s going to make the news. Nothing like this has happened and Naaman was going to be right in the center.

There are times in our lives when we face great events. Weddings are like that. Funerals are like that. Surgeries are like that. We think through those events before they happen. We anticipate what things will be like. Those thoughts swirl around in our minds at night. They keep us up at night. For Naaman, he had it all figured out. But none of it happened the way he thought. Elisha didn’t even show himself. There was no waving of the arms. No one even called upon the name of God. How was he going to be cured if God wasn’t called upon? And, then to be told to go to a dirty river and dip seven times? That’s not impressive. Where is the pomp? Where is the power? Where is the grand demonstration? God’s name isn’t even brought up. Will this work? Is Elisha brushing him off?

Now, what we find here is a grand disconnect that often takes place. Our expectations and reality often are far apart. This happens when we go to a movie. A lot of hype about a new movie. We go. We’re excited. The movie was a dud. It wasn’t what we were expecting. The expectation and the reality didn’t match.

For Naaman, his disappointment wasn’t about a restaurant or a movie, but with God. More specifically, it was with the people of God. He was really disappointed with Elisha. The prophet wasn’t very prophet-like. And, today, there would be some who would use the occasion to tell Elisha a few things. He should have at least came out and explained why dipping in the Jordan river works. He should have spent a few moments with Naaman. This certainly wasn’t good PR. Naaman was a foreigner. He was a visitor. The rudeness of Elisha, some would say, may have caused Naaman not to come back again.

And, here is the bridge for you and I in this passage. We have expectations about God, church and the leaders in the congregation. We have it in our minds how things ought to be. At every surgery, the preacher and the elders need to be sitting throughout the entire surgery in the waiting room. It’s not that the surgeon will step out and ask for their advice, but ‘it’s what they are supposed to do.’ And, when it doesn’t happen, we blow a gasket like ole’ Naaman did. We become disappointed. They let us down.

When a visitor drops in on a Sunday, we expect all the leaders to rush over there, make a big deal about them and make them feel special. Visitors sometimes have that expectation. If that doesn’t happen, shock waves run through the building and especially in our minds. What are they doing, we think? Isn’t this their job? Great disappointment fills the air.

I’m not sure where Naaman got the idea that Elisha ought to appear, waving his arms in the air and calling on God’s name. Maybe that’s how the Syrian prophets operated. The Syrian prophets couldn’t heal Naaman. The Syrian prophets followed fake gods and had no real powers. And, sadly, the same happens today. A visitor may walk in expecting to leave with gift cards, cash in hand, and coupons for a free car wash. Maybe that’s what they got down the street at another church. What they find is that worship isn’t about us, but it’s about God. Truth is taught. God is honored. We all bow our hearts and our wills to Him. There is no popcorn. There is no coupons. There is no gift bags filled with items to take home. What a disappointment, some think. What they find is godly people who love, connect and follow truth. What they find is real hope through a risen Savior. What they find is real answers to real questions. The cotton candy churches provide pretty band-aids for problems. The band-aids look nice on you but the real problems linger below the surface. God’s word, the truth, plain vanilla as it is, is our Jordan River today. It works. It cures sin. It connects us to Jesus who forgives. It changes our hearts. It molds us into being better people. The plain-Jane Bible works, just as the muddy Jordan worked for Naaman. It may not be what you were wanting. It may not be what you were expecting. But, it works. It always has.

The prophet didn’t show and the preacher may not come. No waving of the arms and no special treatment given to you. No loud calling on the name of the Lord and no crowds gathered around you telling you what a great person you are. But when Naaman finally got down to that river and humbled himself and dipped seven times, he was cured. And, when you and I humble ourselves and open that Bible and start doing what it says, we too get cured. Not of physical illnesses, but of spiritual ones. Hatred. Prejudice. Unforgiving. Selfishness. Greed. Pride. Envy. Gossip. Go to the Bible. Do what it says. Those things will be removed from your heart. You don’t need a special class booklet. You don’t need a special 13-week class. You don’t need a sermon just made for you. What you need to do is go to the Bible and do what it says. You don’t even need a preacher to tell you. It’s there. It’s not hard to understand. It’s a matter of your expectations meeting the reality of what God does.

Things to think about…

Roger

Jump Start # 1241

2 Kings 5:11 “But Naaman was furious and went away and said, ‘Behold, I thought, he will surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper.’”

  We continue our look at people in the Bible who thought they could figure God out. Habakkuk couldn’t understand why God was using the wicked Babylonians. Job’s friends had never heard of righteous people suffering. Their misunderstandings about God led to some wrong conclusions.

Today, our little journey takes us to the Syrian commander Naaman. He was a mighty and victorious soldier. One battle that he was not going to win was a personal one with leprosy. A captive servant girl is the hero of this story. It was her faith and compassion that led to finding the prophet of God who would cure Naaman. The prophet, Elisha, sent word for Naaman to dip seven times in the Jordan River. That unusual act was the key to his recovery. It was an act of faith. When Naaman received the word about what he was to do, he went ballistic. This is where our verse is found.

The angry Naaman expected three things to happen. He expected Elisha to show up. He didn’t. He sent a messenger. He expected him to call upon the name of His God in some dramatic fashion. That didn’t happen. He expected Elisha to wave his arms and make the healing a huge event. He didn’t do that. He didn’t even show up. A messenger came. The word was to dip in the dirty Jordan River seven times. There was no fanfare about that. This wasn’t the way Naaman expected. In a classic statement, he says, “Behold, I thought.” He thought he had figured out how God would cure him. He thought he knew what would be done. It wasn’t the way he thought it would be. The news was disappointing. He became angry.

Folks are still “Beholding I thought,” today. One area, especially this time of the year, that so many “think”, is for a church to simply hand out money to any and everyone who wants some. It typically happens this way. A phone call is made to the church building. A stranger on the line needs help paying rent, light bill, Christmas shopping for grandkids or something like that. They belong to no church. They have never visited the place that they are calling. They have a phone book opened and are randomly calling church after church. The preacher on the other end kindly explains that the church doesn’t just randomly hand out money, especially to strangers, and especially to those who have no connection to the church. Banks don’t do that. Businesses don’t do that. Free money without no strings attached, sounds wonderful. The New Testament has a pattern for what is to be done with the collected contribution. It goes to specific places and people. That pattern is just as important as any other pattern in the Bible. Those thoughts are too foreign and too deep for a person looking for free money. When they find out that it’s not going to happen, they either hang up and go on to calling the next church listing in the phone book, or they get mad. They lecture the preacher on the other end of the phone about Christian duty, even though they have very little understanding about what a Christian is. Behold I thought… They thought they knew what a church ought to do. They thought they had God figured out. In their way of thinking, God established the church so people in trouble can come and get free money, without any obligations and commitment and go on their way. Even the Salvation Army makes folks listen to a sermon before they get a free meal.

This, “Behold, I thought,” mentality continues on in other areas. Bring up the sensitive subject of divorce, and every “Behold, I thought,” person comes out of the woodwork. Sweet, mild mannered senior citizens get all fired up if the discussion doesn’t go the way “they think it should.” Bizarre situations, complicated messes and twisted relationships are thrown out on table to be looked at and analyzed in a Bible class. The folks bringing up these sad stories already have a “behold, I thought,” conclusion in their minds. They are wanting affirmation and confirmation of something going on in their families. They are wanting a USDA stamp of approval that Junior can marry once again, for the tenth time, to the love of his life, who has only been married eight times before. The “Behold I thought,” crowd makes loud assertions and sometimes even threatens to leave, if someone would dare say that Junior shouldn’t be getting married. “Behold, I thought…”

The “behold, I thought,” is found in most of us at one time or another. We have heard things, read things, been taught things, assumed things and come with a past, baggage and a load of I think so’s. Most times, once someone is carefully shown things in the Bible, I hear people saying, “I never thought about that before.” They assumed the “Behold, I thought,” was the way it is. When shown, the behold, I thought, now becomes, the Behold, I know. This is the way to deal with thoughts, assumptions, ideas and concepts that people carry. Open the Bible up. Show them. Take them on a Biblical journey and let them see what the Bible truly teaches. Some get mad. Naaman did when he didn’t get the news he wanted. Some, especially, those with an honest and good heart, will see, learn and change their tune. It will no longer be, “behold, I thought.” It now becomes, “The Bible says.” Their confidence stands where it ought to, upon the word of God.

Naaman finally got cured. The message didn’t change. His stubbornness did. We cannot change the message because people do not like it or they get mad. We cannot change the message because someone thought it ought to be something else. It doesn’t work that way. The word of God never changes. It’s us who must change. That Syrian officer had to travel to the Jordan River and get in it and dip not once, but seven times. When he did, his leprosy went away. He was cured. God knows what He is doing. Listen to God. Follow God.

Biblical ignorance is nearly epidemic today, both in and out of the church. Folks simply do not know the Bible. They “think” they do. They say things that sound “Biblical,” but what they say can’t be found in the word of God. The solution? Open the book. Serious studies of the Bible, more time spent reading it as it is written, letting the Bible form and shape our thinking, that’s the hope and that’s the challenge before us.

Behold I thought, or, this is what the Bible says. Often those two are not the same. Let’s speak as the oracles of God.

Roger

Jump Start # 1029

2 Kings 5:11 “But Naaman was furious and went away and said, “Behold, I thought, “He will surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper.”

  The Bible tells us that Naaman was a great man. He was the captain of the Syrian army. He had been victorious and was highly respected. He was also very sick. He was a leper. A girl taken captive from Israel was serving as a maid to Naaman’s wife. She revealed that a prophet back in Israel could cure him. The word reached Naaman, permission was granted and Naaman travels to meet Elisha the prophet. Instead of a face to face meeting, Elisha, sent a message. Naaman was to dip seven times into the Jordan River. This was not what Naaman expected. He at least thought the prophet would come. He didn’t. Once he settled down and his servants convinced him to try, Naaman went to the Jordan, dipped seven times, and was cured.

This passage is a favorite of preachers. It’s easy to preach. It’s full of powerful lessons.

1. The hero of this story is God. He always is. Here we find God granting the wishes to a foreigner who had captured His own people. Without God, Elisha had no powers. It was God’s will that cured Naaman. The praise goes to God.

2. If there is such a thing as “second place,” it goes to the unnamed servant girl from Israel. Upon her confidence in Elisha and her faith, the wheels got turning that led to Naaman’s healing. This servant girl had every reason not to say anything. She was taken captive. She was in a foreign land. She was serving the wife of the captain that probably captured her. Her thoughts could have been on escaping. Her prayers could have been toward her deliverance. The text calls her a “little girl.” She was not too little to know. She was not too little to believe. This little girl spoke the words of faith that got things going.

She is impressive. Her heart is compassionate, even toward foreigners. Her prayers are not just for herself. You may be in a place like this little girl. Health issues may hold you captive. Your work takes you away from home. You may be young. You might be old. You may not be able to answer all the questions someone asks you, but you know someone who can. You tell them. You make the connection. You believe. You act. I’ve known students who invited their high school teachers to services and they came. I’ve known young people that invited teammates to come to church and they came. I’ve known young people who arranged a Bible study with someone much older than they were. This little girl got the wheels turning. That’s impressive. She believed, even though a captive in a foreign land. That’s impressive. She didn’t need sunny days and good times to maintain her faith.

3. Then there is the Naaman complex. “Behold, I thought,” he said. He had it all figured out in his mind. He had played this scene out. Elisha would show up with great fan fair. He would pray to God with grand and elaborate words. His arms would wave around. Probably thunder would boom from the heavens. Maybe angels would swoop down. Then in the midst of this grand scene, the leper would be cured. The crowds would erupt with applause. It would be incredible. Naaman could hardly wait. He may even been happy that he had leprosy because of this marvelous way he was going to be cured. He just knew this was going to be something. He was going to be the center of all of this.

The news brought great disappointment. The text tells us that Naaman was furious. Elisha wasn’t coming. There were no grand prayers offered. There was no thunder from the heavens. No waving of the arms. No wonder and amazement. He was told to go to a dirty river and dip seven times. That didn’t make any sense. That’s not the way it was supposed to be. There’s nothing special about that. Did Elisha not know who Naaman was? Did he not know of his victories? Did he not know of the position he held? Dipping in a river? Dipping in that river?

The Naaman complex is alive and thriving today. God’s message is simple. God’s message is internal. It works on the heart. God’s message is not with fireworks and smoke. The solution to addictions…the way out of trouble…the answer to broken marriages…the return for prodigals…the escape of worry…the answers to doubt…is not wild waving of arms, it’s not fanciful words of the preacher, it’s not smoke and thunder from Heaven, it’s you and I, sitting down with an open Bible in our laps and reading and trusting God. So many of the solutions are not God doing, but us doing by faith. Leaving friends that are destroying us…controlling our environment to keep Satan at a distance…staying away from filthy movies…praying longer, reading the Bible deeper, engaging in worship, walking by faith. These are all actions that we take. We want God to do it all. That’s what Naaman wanted. He didn’t want to go to a river. He didn’t want to dip seven times. He was ready to walk away. Had he done that, he would have died a leper. Many walk away today. It’s not the message that they want to hear. They want the church or God to fix the messes that they have created. They want the church to bail them out financially, with no strings attached. They expect the church to raise their troublesome teenagers. They expect the church to come running when they have a problem. When the church offers to show them how to get to Heaven, that’s not the message they want. Away they storm, mad. Away they go, complaining about Christianity. They need to stop and listen to what God says. We all do.

So often we want God to remove the problem. Instead, God wants us to weather the storm and learn valuable lessons during the storm. Get us out of the problem is our prayer. When God doesn’t do that, we get angry, discouraged and like Naaman, ready to walk away. Those that do, die lepers. Those that listen, are cured. God’s way is not our way. God’s thoughts are not our thoughts.

The problem of Naaman, “Behold I thought…” The heart of a disciples says, “Behold, I listen…”

Which are you?

Roger